Marti Bruening

Woman sitting on grass outdoors playing crystal singing bowls with wooden mallets, surrounded by greenery and a wooden fence.

Since childhood, I’ve known I was a little different – deeply sensitive, drawn to the mystical and “weird” things, and curious about spirituality.

Looking back, I can see how the seeds planted in my early life helped support me on my own healing journey – recovering from childhood trauma, chronic pain, an eating disorder, divorce, depression, anxiety, and corporate burnout – that eventually led me to this work.

My path began with Reiki. I first experienced Reiki in college, when I wrote an article for the student newspaper about holistic wellness and received a Reiki treatment as part of my research. I was enamored immediately. I felt soothed, cared for, and calm after my session, and I have been a regular Reiki client ever since.

Through the years, I’ve continued to explore many other modalities: crystals, essential oils, yoga, talk therapy, Internal Family Systems “parts” work, somatic experiencing, and meditation, to name a few. All of them have been meaningful additions to my life and led me to where I am today: steady and strong in my ability to walk alongside my clients on their healing paths..

My desire to give back and hold space in the way others held space for me led me to receive the first three levels of Reiki attunement in 2021 and the final level, Master Teacher, in 2024.

In the midst of my Reiki journey, another transformational practice entered my world – breathwork. I attended my first Be Free Breathwork ™ retreat in the fall of 2020 and walked out a changed woman. Breathwork journeys have allowed me to process trauma and shift from a reactive space to an empowered, open-hearted mindset. After an intense 10-month training, I became a Be Free Breathwork facilitator in 2022.

In 2025, I added yoga to my list of offerings; I teach primarily restorative and slow flow styles. Most recently, I formalized my long-held love of sound healing with crystal singing bowls and Reiki Drumming certifications. One of my favorite things to do is curate and facilitate sound baths with my ever-growing list of instruments, such as gong, drum, crystal signing bowls, and other percussion. I also regularly lead group and private guided Drum Journeys.

Today, I combine my natural intuition, Reiki, breathwork, movement, and sound to bring healing, love, and support to my clients' hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. It is my deepest honor to walk with you on your healing path!

Credentials

  • Usui Reiki Level I – March 2021

  • Usui Reiki Level II – July 2021

  • Usui Reiki Master Practitioner – October 2021

  • Usui Reiki Master Teacher – July 2024

  • Be Free Breathwork ™ Facilitator – July 2022

  • 200-hour Certified Yoga Instructor - August 2025

  • Therapeutic Sacred Sound – August 2023

  • Reiki Drumming Practitioner - January 2026

  • Crystal Singing Bowls Practitioner through Rainbow Sounds - May 2026

  • Corporate/Employee wellness guide

What is Akamai?

The word “akamai” is Hawaiian (pronounced "ah-ka-my") and means wise and skillful. I firmly believe our bodies are very wise teachers if we can slow down and get quiet enough to hear them. But that’s not why I chose to name my business Akamai Healing. I have a personal connection to the word.

I am named after my mother’s sister, my Aunt Martha Ann. Martha passed away in a car accident about a year before I was born. She was an artist with beautiful red hair and a free spirit. Martha had spent some time in Hawaii in her 20s and fallen in love with the place and the people. When she later got a pet parakeet, she wanted a Hawaiian name for it, so she chose Akamai. My mother followed in Martha’s footsteps and moved to Hawaii after college, where she met my father. They lived the first six years of their marriage in Hawaii before moving back to the mainland, where they had me and my brother.

Akamai the bird outlived my aunt, but when the bird did pass away, my grandparents buried him next to Martha’s grave, so their final resting places are together in a small cemetery in Del Rio, Texas.

A woman with reddish hair is holding a yellow and green parakeet on her finger. She is smiling and looking at the bird indoors near a window with curtains.

I believe Martha is one of my strongest spirit guides. She first came to me in my 30s during a dark time, and she manifested herself to me in the form of large black wings wrapped around me, telling me I was cared for and all would be okay. The wing in my logo is a dedication to her.

I thank Martha, and all my teachers and guides, for the opportunity to bring that same sense of love and care to the clients of Akamai Healing.